Stillness, Serenity, Surrender,Simplicy, Solitude,Suchness

Buddhism in small bites

If you are a good horseback rider, your mind can wander but you don’t fall off your horse. In the same way, whatever circumstances you encounter, if you are well trained in meditation, you don’t get swept away by emotions. Instead, they perk you up and your awareness increases.

Abandon any hope of fruition.

The key instruction is to stay in the present. Don’t get caught up in hopes of what you’ll achieve and how good your situation will be some day in the future. What you do right now is what matters.

Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end.

In the morning when you wake up, you reflect on the day ahead and aspire to use it to keep a wide-open heart and mind. At the end of the day, before going to sleep, you think over what you have done. If you fulfilled your aspiration, even once, rejoice in that. If you went against your aspiration, rejoice that you are able to see what you did and are no longer living in ignorance. This way you will be inspired to go forward with increasing clarity, confidence, and compassion in the days that follow.

Pema Chodron, Bite-Sized Buddhism, Tricycle Magazine

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Perfect, and very helpful, whether one is Buddhist or not! I’ve been trying very hard to quiet my mind and live in each wonderful moment (because they have pretty much all been wonderful, and yet I know how many of them I’ve missed and will never get back again). But I think that’s the problem–“trying very hard,” and then (for myself) endlessly chastising myself for “failing.” It’s really not all that complicated, is it?! It’s the “small bites” that matter…the virtue and joy in the “ordinary.”

i had to kill some time while waiting to see a doctor — about an hour. So I went to the Oxford Valley Mall, Bucks County, PA, just outside Philadelphia.

Found a wooden bench facing dozens of brightly lit stores, sat and closed my eyes, trying my best to block out the noise of a nearby television showing the same commercial every few moments.

I heard the footsteps of people passing by, the sounds of a cleaning person “dragging” a claeaning cart, as well as others speaking as they walked by.

I continued to meditate. I focused on my breath. Soon, my breath was the only focus there was. I luckily “nudged out” other distractions and felt amazed some 45 minutes later that I was able to “refresh” myself at such a deep level in the midst of such busyness.